


If Your World Fall Apart

by Tillyalf427



Category: Wave!! (Anime)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:42:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29359722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tillyalf427/pseuds/Tillyalf427
Summary: Masaki and Tanaka are both struggling to cope after Sho's death
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	If Your World Fall Apart

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, I don't want to believe that Sho is dead but hey here's some angst  
> Title taken from 'start a riot' by Banners

The evening sunlight filtered through the closed curtains of Masaki's bedroom, telling him that yet another day had passed. Another day spent hopelessly lying in bed, trying to process the million and one thoughts running through his head, almost all centring around _Sho_.

Sho that was no longer with them.

Sho that was taken away from him.

_Sho..._

His throat felt tight again but he didn't want to cry. He wouldn't.

Rolling over, his eyes drifted to the framed photo standing on his desk and his heart clenched painfully. He didn't even get to say goodbye.

A knock on his bedroom door ripped his swollen eyes away from the happy memory eternalised in the photo, expecting his mother to poke her head around the door before he could even respond. When the door stayed firmly closed however, he forced out a strained "Yeah?"

He probably shouldn't have been so surprised to see Tanaka entering his room, clicking the door closed behind him, after all, they had both been affected by Sho's death. It was made obvious by the dark circled marring Tanaka's tanned skin underneath his eyes.

"Corgi," The nickname didn't quite hold the same playful lilt that it used to and somehow it only served to make everything seem just that bit more real.

Sho was gone.

"Tanaka..." Masaki knew he sounded pitiful. He probably looked it too but Tanaka made his way over regardless, sinking down to sit beside Masaki's bed, leaning against it with his head flopped backwards, staring at the ceiling much like Masaki had done for much of the day.

Silence settled between them, unusual without the faint strumming of a ukulele accompanied by Tanaka's soothing voice or without Masaki's contagious laughter.

"How was school?" Masaki asked meekly. knowing that despite everything, Tanaka's parents had urged him to go to school with the hope that it would take his mind off everything. Tanaka hummed, eyes slipping closed.

"The usual. Everyone's acting as if nothing happened..." An uncharacteristic scoff escaped him "It must be nice to be able to ignore it all,"

"Yeah..." Masaki felt the clenching in his heart again "But...I don't regret knowing Sho...Even through all this..."

"No...me neither," the silence returned and Masaki's eyes locked on where Tanaka's head was resting, tilted backwards at an odd angle. Without much thought, he reached out a tentative hand, fingers running hesitantly through Tanaka's hair.

Tanaka opened an eye to glance at him but otherwise said nothing and Masaki was silently glad. He didn't know why he had reached out and he knew even less why he was continuing to twist and run his fingers through his friend's hair. Something about the action was just comforting, familiar in an unfamiliar way.

When Masaki did pull away, Tanaka actually turned to look at him, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Corgi-"

"You're going to hurt your neck," Masaki interrupted, shuffling back on his bed so he was closer to the wall.

"Corgi-" Tanaka tried again, a more concerned expression on his face only to be cut off once more

"Here, lie down,"

"Masaki," Tanaka tried again, having moved to sit on the edge of Masaki's bed. He reached a hand out towards his friend, fingers brushing softly against Masaki's cheek, wiping away tears that he hadn't been aware of.

"I..." Masaki started, also sitting up as he reached up in confusion "I... didn't know I was crying..."

"Jeez Corgi," Tanaka let out a sad sigh and when Masaki looked over, he spotted identical tears forming in Tanaka's eyes, stubborn enough that they hadn't quite fallen yet "You scared me, you're acting really strange you know,"

"You are too you know," Masaki huffed, the words holding no real bite as he flopped back down onto the bed.

"Oh yeah?" Tanaka joined him lying down, tilting his head to the side to look at Masaki. "In what way?"

Masaki gave a pointed look which to Tanaka, only made him look more like a fluffy corgi. He raised his arms as if he was holding a ukulele, strumming his fingers on the imaginary instrument in an imitation of his friend.

"You've not even hummed anything the past few days let alone actually playing," Masaki clarified, earning a sigh of agreement

"I suppose," Tanaka rolled onto his side "You've been quiet too. And you haven't left the house at all,"

"Yeah..."

They both went quiet, the room filled with nothing but the sounds of their own breathing as they lay facing each other. It should have been weird with how close they were, able to feel each other's breath however it brought Masaki the comfort he was desperately needing.

With a shaky exhale, Masaki gave up trying to hold back his tears, after all, Tanaka had already seen him crying. They were both in the same situation, having lost a close friend.

It seemed Tanaka had also come to this realisation, eyes closed as he took in a deep breath as he let the tears slowly roll down his face until they soaked into Masaki's pillow.

Masaki reached out a cold hand, gripping the front of Tanaka's jacket, shaking from the overwhelming emotions raging inside him.

"After he told me not to surf in dangerous conditions...Why?" Masaki choked out between tears "He knows when it's unsafe...He knew...So why?"

"Masaki..." Tanaka didn't know how to respond. Hearing the same questions he had been asking himself from Masaki's mouth didn't help him to understand any better. Despite his own inner turmoil, he shuffled closer to his friend, arms coming to curl around the shorter boy, taking in a long breath as he felt Masaki's hands shaking where they gripped his clothes.

"I've been asking the same things...Sho...It just doesn't make sense..." Tanaka mumbled into Masaki's hair eyes already stinging from crying even for such a short amount of time.

No more words were exchanged, with both boys being stuck in their own thoughts, the silence only being interrupted by sniffle or hiccups. 

The past few months had been the best ones they'd had in a while and, after the excitement of Masaki's first competition, no-one could have known that it would all lead to this and yet Masaki found himself wishing he had at least known it was coming. Maybe he wouldn't have gotten quite so attached to Sho. If he had known he was going to...

_No._

He cut off the train of thought before it could spiral. He would never regret meeting Sho. Despite all the pain he was feeling at the moment, he would never regret a second that he spent with Sho, and he imagined Tanaka must have felt the same.

Shifting slightly, Masaki managed to catch a glance of Tanaka's expression, noticing that his friend had fallen asleep at some point, eyes closed but still surrounded by glistening tear tracks.

The realisation hit him as he took in just how dark the circles underneath Tanaka's eyes were, taking note of the paler tone of his skin. He wasn't alone with this. They still had each other and they would get through this.

Somehow.

With that last thought, Masaki took a last deep breath, allowing his eyes to flutter closed as he shuffled closer to Tanaka, enjoying the warmth and the familiar smell of the sea that clung to Tanaka from the sheer amount of time he spent surfing.

Sho was gone...

But somehow things didn't seem quite as dark now. He would get through this. They would get through this.


End file.
